


No Chances for Goodbye

by letliv3



Category: Naruto
Genre: Naruto AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 00:18:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9097189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letliv3/pseuds/letliv3
Summary: What if Jiraiya survived the fight with Pein? What if he was in the village when Pein invaded? "Keeping his Sage mode active with so much happening was putting a strain on Jiraiya’s focus, but he held on to the lightening edges of Kakashi’s rapidly fading chakra. No, no no no. Not like this. Jiraiya couldn’t lose another Hatake, not while he was still alive. He wouldn’t allow it."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Buckle up kiddos, the angst is here!
> 
> Now, this is mostly unedited. Its based on @padlocked-quintus on Tumblr and I’s AU where Asuma, Jiraiya, and an assortment of other characters live! (Because we need them to be happy, but I like to rain on the parade because I am an angst addict).
> 
> I listened to Memorial, Blessed with a Curse, Don’t Go, and Suicide Season by Bring Me the Horizon while writing this. The title is a lyric from Suicide Season, and I think it fits! This also got a little away from me, so I apologize for the length, but have fun!

Jiraiya had wanted to keep Naruto out of the fighting as long as possible. He had wanted to let the blond train until he was truly, desperately needed. When Pein attacked, the Sanin knew Naruto wasn’t ready, couldn’t be ready. People had died keeping Naruto’s location secret.

None of those people knew where Naruto was, anyhow. Only Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, and himself knew where Naruto was. Jiraiya knew none of them would willingly give Naruto up, the Jinchuuriki held too much importance to them all.

Most of the village was destroyed by the battles that were taking place. Jiraiya tried to help where he could, but seeing the Rinnegan was a shock. To think that Nagato would fall so far… No. Jiraiya pushed that thought to the back of his mind. He couldn’t think about that now. The Toad Sanin was looking for a particular shinobi who Jiraiya just _knew_ was going to get himself in trouble. At this point Jiraiya was in Sage mode, and was sifting furiously through the energies around him. He had to find Kakashi, he had to find Sakumo’s son, _why couldn’t he find him?_

Just as he started to truly panic, Jiraiya felt it. A flicker of lightening chakra, the vacuum that was the Sharingan, and the familiar sensation of chakra depletion. That _godsdamned idiot_ had gone and used up almost all his chakra. The Toad Sage could still feel one of the Peins there, but it was retreating. Jiraiya packed as much chakra as he dared into his feet and sprinted faster towards Kakashi, knowing the silver haired man was short on time. Katsuyu slid up to his shoulder, sensing the urgency in Jiraiya’s pace. He had known the slug almost as long as he had known Gamabunta, and was thankful she could read him so well at a time like this.

Keeping his Sage mode active with so much happening was putting a strain on Jiraiya’s focus, but he held on to the lightening edges of Kakashi’s rapidly fading chakra. _No, no no no._ Not like this. Jiraiya couldn’t lose another Hatake, not while he was still alive. He wouldn’t allow it. The Copy nin’s chakra was slipping away with each second that passed by. Katsuyu shifted nervously on the Sanin’s shoulder as he pushed even more chakra into his legs. He wasn’t going to make it. He would be too little, too late, just like with Sakumo. The thought was like a sucker punch to the gut. Jiraiya raced against time, against fate, he pushed himself harder, faster, and just as the silver head came into view, the last wisp of the crackling lightening chakra sputtered and died out.

The Toad Sage skidded to a halt just to the side of the debris pile that Kakashi was buried in, and fell to his knees. This can’t be happening. It can’t. Jiraiya doesn’t even feel Katsuyu slide off his shoulder to hurry over to Kakashi. He already knows what the slug will find. Tears begin to well up in his eyes, and he releases his Sage Mode. Forcing himself to his feet, Jiraiya makes his way to the debris pile, and begins to tear away at it. Sharingan no Kakashi doesn’t deserve to be left there to rot like trash. He hears Katsuyu’s quiet “Lady Tsunade?” Tears and tears at the pile until the still-too-light form falls limp in his arms.

Gently, the Toad Sanin lays Sakumo’s son on the ground, and sits beside him. Takes in the matted silver hair, the bloodied face, the torn flak vest, can see the blood start to turn tacky where it meets the fabric mask. The broken ribs, the shattered pelvis, the legs broken in so many places even Tsunade would struggle to heal completely. Jiraiya clenched his hands into fists, allowed himself a few tears, then straightened his back. This was the last straw.

Katsuyu had slithered back onto his shoulder, deflated and shaking slightly. “Tsunade,” he asks, surprisingly calm.

“She did not take the news well, but thanks to Kakashi’s actions we now know more of the Pein’s abilities and identifying features.” The message was delivered in a shaking voice, unusual for the slug. Jiraiya nodded his head, making up his mind.

“It’s time then.” Jiraiya stood, and carefully picked up his last connection to Sakumo, one of the few people he promised to protect. Features grim and face dirty, he set off towards the Hokage tower.

“Time for what, Lord Jiraiya?” Katsuyu’s tone was curious, distorted as she wrapped herself protectively around the Toad Sage’s neck.

“It’s time to summon Naruto. We need him,” Jiraiya’s voice was still deceptively calm, the Hokage tower was closer than he thought. He pushed a little more chakra into his legs, wanting to summon the blond as quickly as possible.

“Lady Tsunade agrees with you, I informed her of your approach. She is ready when you are, Lord Jiraiya.” Nodding, the white-haired man leapt the last few rooftops to the Hokage tower, careful not to jostle his burden too much. He heard several of the ANBU guards’ sharp intake of breath, and laid down the broken form in his arms. He heard one ANBU breathe out a denial, one collapsed to their knees, another clenched their fist and punched the nearest wall.

Jiraiya kneeled next to the Copy nin, as Tsunade walked over and kneeled across from him. Dimly, he was aware of another round of shinobi come to report in to Tsunade, only to stop short at the scene on the rooftop. The Toad Sage looked up to acknowledge the newcomers, only to be greeted by Sakura and Asuma.

“Is he…” Asuma breathed out, unable to finish. Jiraiya nodded gravely, unable to meet the eyes of Kakashi’s student and friends. The third Hokage’s son clenched his fists and looked away, while the pinkette collapsed to her knees.

“I’m summoning Naruto. This must end, now. I sent a summons to tell them to prepare a while back, so they should be ready.” Standing Jiraiya walks over to the edge of the tower roof, and turns back to survey the group around him. Kakashi Hatake held a place in the hearts of everyone here, and the loss was thick in the air.

“Do it, Naruto needs to be here, needs to see this.” It was Sakura who spoke, voice cracking on the last word. Asuma nodded his agreement, while Tsunade had made her way back to the circle to resume healing the citizens of the village. Jiraiya met her eyes, and she nodded once to him. They both knew what they needed to do.

That didn’t mean that Jiraiya was ready to tell Naruto that his sensei had been killed.

Jumping down from the tower, he quickly scouted out the largest clearing he could find. Making his way to the middle, Jiraiya formed the familiar hand signs, the summoning seal blooming delicately underneath his palm. Smoke billowed up, and several distinct chakra signatures appeared. As the air cleared, Jiraiya allowed his shoulders to slump for a moment.

This conversation was not going to be easy.


	2. Cold Fury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was fire and chaos and fury trapped in the body of a ninja, and she would wield all the weapons she had to take down this man- for he was only a man, not the god he claimed to be.

She got to her feet, legs unsteady and heart pounding in her ears. She didn’t care about the exhaustion she could feel hovering at the edge of her awareness, she didn’t care about the way Jiraiya’s shoulders were rigid as he leapt away. All she cared about was getting to him, getting to Kakashi. She heard someone say her name- likely Asuma trying to stop her, but she wouldn’t let him. She had to try. She had to try to help him. Tsunade wasn’t working on him, which meant that Sakura had to. Eyes glued to the unmoving form, the medic nin deposited herself directly next to her sensei. Shaking hands glowing softly with green healing chakra, she placed her hands on Kakashi’s forehead and above his heart, and held her breath, waiting to confirm her worst fears.

What met her full-of-life chakra was a still heart.

For a brief second, Sakura was sure her heart had stopped too. There was no fiercely crackling lightening chakra rising up to meet her own, no cheeky quip given as reassurance. The chunin plunged her chakra deeper, probing for the injury that killed her jonin sensei. Her heart jerked at the jigsaw puzzle that was once his pelvis, the wound that was still weeping blood on his scalp, the shattered ribs that were allowing blood to easily fill the lungs.

Deeper still, Sakura found the answer. It was so typical, so extremely _Kakashi_ , that it almost didn’t surprise her. He had used up all his chakra like the self-sacrificing bastard he is. _Was._ Carefully, she pulled back her chakra from the cooling body in front of her. She wanted nothing more than to look at the masked man and pretend he was just another faceless victim in this atrocity, but she couldn’t. She wouldn’t allow herself to, because if she allowed herself to push this off, once the dust settled there would be a bigger breakdown waiting to happen.

Suddenly there was a plume of smoke that announced the arrival of several chakra signatures. Relief flooded the medic, immediately followed by worry and loss. Naruto was finally here. He would arrive ready to defend his precious people, only to find out one of them was already dead.       

Distantly Sakura was aware of someone moving across from her. Looking up, she met warm brown eyes that were filled with the same pain that she felt. Asuma looked down at the corpse of one of his closest friends, and slumped his shoulders is defeat.

“Kurenai is pregnant. I was going to ask Kakashi to be the godfather,” the chain-smoker said in a low voice. The chunin looked at Asuma and she felt her heart break just a little bit more. A godchild. Maybe that would have helped pull Kakashi out of the self-loathing that anyone could see when they looked closely enough.

 Sakura could feel Naruto’s chakra rising now. The sun-spot chakra was erratic with confusion and disbelief, reflecting its wielder’s state of mind. Informing Naruto of the loss was not something Sakura envied of the Toad Sage, but she knew the knucklehead would make his way over to their vigil. Instinctively, the chunin reached out and took Kakashi’s hand in her own, clutched it like it was the last thing connecting her to the surface of the planet, and allowed the tears to flow from her eyes. Pein had taken her home, taken her sensei, he _would not_ take Naruto from her, _she would not let him._

Sundrenched chakra was headed their way at a speed Sakura didn’t think Naruto possessed. There was a desperate edge that tipped it, much like how the medic imagined her own felt. She let her chakra call to Naruto’s like a beacon, and waited for the blond to leap onto the roof of the Hokage tower.

A flash of blond leapt up and over the edge of the roof, and stopped dead in his tracks. Mouth agape, eyes surrounded by what could only be the mark of a sage, and shaking hands greeted Sakura when she lifted her eyes to him. Behind him came Lord Jiraiya, who looked like he had just aged ten years. The older sage put his hand on Naruto’s shoulder and squeezed.

“Naruto-” Jiraiya started.

“I need to see him, let me see him!” The blond ripped away from his master, and surged over to Sakura’s side in a sweep of his new robes. Still clutching Kakashi’s hand, the chunin began to cry harder.

Naruto was quiet for a moment, and Sakura looked up to her only remaining teammate, the boy who inspired her in so many ways, and saw the disbelief in his eyes. The shock, the unrelenting pain, and then the anger. Sakura felt an answering tug deep in her chest, and her tears began to slow. They wouldn’t let Pein get away with this. Hardening her heart, she looked back to Asuma, who was watching the two of them with sorrow.

“He won’t get away with this. He was after me, and Kakashi-sensei paid the price.” Naruto’s voice was a low growl, and Sakura almost felt pity for the person he would turn his anger on. Almost.

Lord Jiraiya approached their small vigil with his mouth set in a grim line, and said “We won’t let him get away with it, Naruto. Kakashi is- _was_ smart. He sacrificed himself to give us more information on the enemy. Let’s use that information to take him down.”

“With Lord Jiraiya and Kakashi’s combined efforts, we’ve learned a lot about the enemy,” Asuma said in a more hopeful voice. “Each Pein has a different ability, they share their eyesight, and the true Pein isn’t among them. If all of us work together we may just be able to beat him.” Sakura stared at the Third Hokage’s son and felt her spirit rise with the hope in his voice. He was right, they could do this.

Like a butterfly unfurling its wings for the first time, she felt a cold fury spread and settle deep in her bones. The medic welcomed it like an old friend, and felt it warm her chest. She was fire and chaos and fury trapped in the body of a ninja, and she would wield all the weapons she had to take down this man- for he was only a man, not the god he claimed to be.

Even if he was a so-called god, she would bring down the very world on top of the person who destroyed her home and killed her sensei.


End file.
